Quick Links

HALVED JOINTS Strengthened Halved Joint The halved joint needs to be strengthened with pins, screws, or dowels because its gluing surface is minimal. Lay out and cut the halved joint using your preferred method. ➤See “Hand-Cut Halved Joint” on p. 135. Mark out hole locations on the joint with a scratch awl (A). Measure or eyeball their positions. Set the drilling depth by pulling the drill bit out only as deep as you need (B). You can also mark the drill bit depth with a piece of masking tape (C). Make sure when you drill that you line up the drill on the edge of the box as an aid so you drill straight into the joint. Keep dowel diameters small to avoid short-grain problems at the end of the joint when you hammer in the dowel. Also make sure the dowel pin is as close to round as you can find. Dowels have a tendency to dry out oval over time. Cut the dowels a little long. Then chamfer their ends with some sandpaper. Use a toothpick to apply glue to the holes; glue put on the dowels will get scraped off as the pins enter the holes. Drive in the dowels using a metal hammer. You’ll know to stop pounding when the sound of the blows changes from a dull thud to a pinging sound (D). After the glue has set, trim off the ends of the dowels with a saw or chisel. Don’t take too big a bite with the chisel, as this may cause tearout in the dowel below the surface of the surrounding wood. Just pare away at an angle, taking small passes. Do this from several directions until the dowel is flush with the surface of the box (E). A B C ALVED JOINTS Strengthened Halved Joint The halved joint needs to be strengthened with pins, screws, or dowels because its gluing sur- face is minimal. Lay out and cut the halved joint using your preferred method. ➤See “Hand-Cut Halved Joint” on p. 135. Mark out hole locations on the joint with a scratch awl (A). Measure or eyeball their posi- tions. Set the drilling depth by pulling the drill bit out only as deep as you need (B). You can also mark the drill bit depth with a piece of masking tape (C). Make sure when you drill that you line up the drill on the edge of the box as an aid so you drill straight into the joint. Keep dowel diameters small to avoid short-grain problems at the end of the joint when you ham- mer in the dowel. Also make sure the dowel pin is as close to round as you can find. Dowels have a tendency to dry out oval over time. Cut the dowels a little long. Then chamfer their ends with some sandpaper. Use a toothpick to apply glue to the holes; glue put on the dowels will get scraped off as the pins enter the holes. Drive in the dowels using a metal hammer. You’ll know to stop pounding when the sound of the blows changes from a dull thud to a pinging sound (D). After the glue has set, trim off the ends of the dowels with a saw or chisel. Don’t take too big a bite with the chisel, as this may cause tearout in the dowel below the surface of the surrounding wood. Just pare away at an angle, taking small passes. Do this from several directions until the dowel is flush with the surface of the box (E). A B C E E Finger Joints 137